


Roller Skates and Blind Dates

by ToBebbanburg



Series: Ink & Ivy Modern AU [3]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: F/F, and cant get it back out, andy gets her head in the game, have to write?, lykon is matchmaker and peacemaker, roller derby au bebe, you ever see some fan art and just
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:15:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26928751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToBebbanburg/pseuds/ToBebbanburg
Summary: Andy and Quynh are captains of rival roller derby teams, and that rivalry gets a little too intense. Lykon eventually decides to step in in an attempt to broker peace between the two women, but damn, Andy really doesn't like Quynh...
Relationships: Andy | Andromache of Scythia/Quynh | Noriko
Series: Ink & Ivy Modern AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1955659
Comments: 23
Kudos: 113





	Roller Skates and Blind Dates

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by this amazing piece of au art: https://luminarai.tumblr.com/post/631499485496950786/the-old-guard-but-make-it-sports-i-guess-to-the  
> I also took Andy and Quynh's game names from there.  
> Side note: this takes place in 2010, so they're both in their early 30s or thereabouts, and even I've placed it in my au this is pretty much a standalone on account of the time period.

“Did you see that move?!” Andy raged as she burst into Lykon’s crummy office, still wearing her roller derby gear (minus the skates). “Penultimate round, with the slew foot: she should be suspended for that. Look, I’m still bleeding!”

“Andromache, you’re still bleeding because you’ve repeatedly refused any advances from the first aiders.” Lykon sighed. “And the move she pulled was the same move _you_ pulled on her last week.”

“That was different.” Andy retorted. Lykon raised an eyebrow. “It was!” She insisted.

“Could it be, perhaps, and do correct me if I’m wrong: but do you think this has something to with the crush you have on her?”

“You’re wrong.” Andy said immediately. “I hate her. Thanks for nothing, Lykon.”

She stormed out of the office in a rage and went straight to her car, throwing her helmet onto the back seat so hard it bounced straight off and into the footwell. Her? A crush on Quynh? Ridiculous.

*****

Andy, or Androma-kills as she was called at the rink, was the captain of the Steppe Sisters, a roller derby team mostly formed of Slavic and Asian immigrants. Quynh, or Pit Wiper, was captain and frequent jammer of the Steel Stilettos, the team currently leading the league by the thinnest of margins from the Steppe Sisters.

They had met each other over a year ago, when the Steel Stilettos announced themselves as the new team on the block, and a team to be reckoned with at that. The Steppe Sisters had won the league three years in a row, and had entered last season on a high, only to have underestimated their competition and been brutally beaten by the Steel Stilettos. Leading the opposition, her elbows as sharp and as deadly as her smile, was Quynh.

Yes, Quynh was breathtakingly gorgeous, and yes, she was undoubtedly talented at roller derby, but she fought dirty each and every time Andy faced her and that, as far as she was concerned, was a step too far.

Not to mention that when Andy had hosted the league trophy ceremony at her bar Quynh had sniffed and regarded the decor with distaste.

_“It’s... rustic.”_ She had said. _“I could always help you redecorate, if you like, I do enjoy a challenge.”_

Maybe the offer had been genuine, but Andy was firmly convinced it was an insult and the moment had only fuelled her on-rink rivalry with Quynh.

“Look. Andy. You’re not playing at your best these days.” Lykon tried to reason with her days after the slew foot incident. “You’ve let Quynh get inside your head and it’s affecting your game.”

“I haven’t let her inside _anywhere_.” Andy snarled, and Lykon shook his head.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Isn’t it? ‘Oh Andy, you’re just being unreasonable because you’ve got a crush on Quynh.’ I’m 33, Lykon, I’m over crushes.”

Lykon studied her for a second.

“You need to get laid.” He assessed, and Andy swore.

“You know, I know a woman, about your age. She’s nice, works for a PR agency, and she’s single.” Lykon continued.

“I can meet people on my own.” Andy snorted. “But thanks.”

“She’s hot. Gorgeous, even. Trust me, go for a drink with her, have some fun, and you’ll forget all this Pit Wiper nonsense.”

“Hmmm. I’ll consider it. But _only_ if it gets you off my back.”

“I promise.” Lykon grinned.

“Alright then.”

*****

Lykon told her next to nothing about the mystery woman, other than that she apparently worked in interior design and had “the most perfectly styled hair this side of the English channel”. She would be wearing a red dress, apparently. It wasn’t a whole lot to go off.

Still, it had been a while, and whether this was a _date_ date or a formality before a one-night stand, Andy didn’t much care. Between working at her bar and playing roller derby every weekend she met an awful lot of people, but besides her bar staff and teammates she never really got the chance to _connect_ with anyone new. She would never admit it to Lykon, but this evening with his friend was actually exactly what she needed.

Well. It would have been exactly what she needed, had the person Lykon had tried to set her up with not been Quynh. Andy had hoped it had been a coincidence at first, that Quynh just _happened_ to be at the bar Lykon had directed her to, but there was no escaping that she was the only woman there wearing a red dress. An incredibly vibrant, form-fitting red dress that drew Andy’s eyes to places she had always tried to avoid thinking too much about.

The worst part was, Quynh seemed happy to see her.

“Andromache.” She said warmly, patting the bar stool next to her in invitation. “I honestly wasn’t sure you’d come. You scrub up rather nicely, I must say.”

Just like everything else Quynh said, it was probably meant to be a compliment, but it raised Andy’s hackles. She _had_ made an effort tonight, and even if she didn’t spend the same amount of time on her appearance most days she resented Quynh’s implication that she didn’t normally look good. This was a mistake. She was going to kill Lykon.

“This was a mistake.” She told Quynh. “I’m going to kill Lykon.”

“Oh come now.” Quynh tutted. “We’re well away from the rink, why not try to be civil? Or is that a little beyond you?” she teased, somehow knowing exactly how to get Andy to do what she wanted.

“I can be civil.” Andy said, taking the empty bar stool and gesturing for the barman to give her a beer. “You won’t believe how civil I can be.”

“Good.” Quynh smiled, and took a sip of her drink. “Look, Andy, I apologise if you thought I set this up. Lykon was honest with me about what he was planning, and I assumed he would say the same to you. Personally, I would just _love_ to get to know the person behind my most ruthless opponent, but if you don’t feel the same then I shan’t keep you here.”

Goddamnit. Quynh was a smooth talker, and Andy felt a flush of guilt. Perhaps she _had_ let their on-rink rivalry seep into their everyday lives a little. More than a little.

“One drink.” She said. “But this isn’t a date. It’s just… an evening.”

“As you wish.” Quynh said, shaking her hair back from her face and raising her glass to Andy’s. “To an evening.”

“To an evening.” Andy repeated, lifting her glass to meet Quynh’s.

As much as Andy hated it at first, she actually began to enjoy talking to Quynh. Once she made the conscious effort to push all thoughts of roller derby aside, she found she could appreciate the other woman’s wit, her skill for story-telling, her charm. They found a mutual common ground in trash-talking the other teams in their league, and it soon transpired that Quynh’s offer to help redecorate Andy’s bar had been genuine, and she had legitimately good ideas on how to do it at that.

It was remarkably turning out to be a great evening, and Andy felt a small pang of regret that she had explicitly stated that it wasn’t to be a date. Over a year of rivalry was unravelling right in front of her, and Andy kicked herself for being so caught up in the game for not giving this a chance earlier. She was almost prepared to renegotiate the terms of the evening with Quynh when they were interrupted by one of the bar’s other patrons.

“Alright ladies, drinking alone are we? Your fellas stand you up, eh?” A man with a face the colour of rancid bacon leered at them both, his equally complexioned friends eyeing them up from behind him.

“We’re on a date, actually.” Quynh said, her voice as calm and cold as a drifting iceberg. A date, Andy's mind repeated. Maybe she just said it an attempt to get the man to leave them alone, but maybe…

“With her? Luv, if you’re gonna date a butch why not just have one of us instead? Maybe that’ll put a smile on your face.”

Quynh laughed at that, tossing her hair back, and Andy recognised her shift into game mode. This was the Quynh who could turn from sweet smile to sharp teeth at the drop of a hat, a Quynh who was as deadly as she was beautiful. Andy’s heart jumped.

“You poor man.” Quynh said. “Andromache here has elbowed me, punched me, broken my nose and split my lip more times than I could count and yet I’d _still_ rather be sat here with her than spend a minute longer talking to you.”

“You what?” The man said, his eyes squinting as he tried to comprehend the insult.

“She means ‘fuck off’.” Andy supplied helpfully, and Quynh smiled at her.

“Nah, nah, see if you ladies aren’t gonna give me and my boys a chance, the least you could do is give us a show. Just a kiss, go on.”

Andy met Quynh’s eyes and raised an eyebrow at her.

“I’ll let you go first.” Andy said in mocking civility.

“Why thank you.” Quynh replied in the same tone, before picking up her glass and neatly throwing the contents all over the man’s face. Andy followed suit and emptied her beer onto the man, who spluttered and wiped his eyes.

“You bitch!” He snarled, reaching to grab a hold of Quynh, but Andy was faster. She rose from her chair and shoved him hard, sending him staggering back into his friends.

“Urgh, the Conservatives have been in charge for ten minutes and the country goes to shit.” Quynh wrinkled her nose at the sight.

“Country’s always been shit.” Andy corrected, and failed to notice the fist that was thrown her way. She dodged just in time so that it hit her in the shoulder rather than the face, but it still stung. Before she could react Quynh had moved in front of her, stepping down smartly on the man’s instep and elbowing him in the gut.

Just like that all hell broke lose. The man’s friends, three men who looked like they enjoyed beer and rugby in equal amounts moved forward to their friend’s aid, and Andy and Quynh ducked and hit and elbowed and for once, for once in their lives, they fought together. It was glorious.

They still got thrown out of the bar.

“That was...” Andy panted, her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

“...surprisingly fun.” Quynh finished, less winded but far more rumpled. She took a compact mirror out of her purse and tried to comb her hair into some form of respectability with her fingers.

“Let me.” Andy said softly, straightening up and gently de-tangling Quynh’s hair until it once again lay sleek and soft around her shoulders.

“There.” She said, finding herself unwilling to take her hands away. Quynh met her eyes, and took a hold of one of Andy’s hands, placing it so it rest at the back of her neck.

“There.” Quynh repeated, then leant in and kissed Andy.

Her lips were soft against Andy’s chapped ones, and Andy could taste the faintest trace of cherry lipgloss amongst the stronger remains of gin. If competing against Quynh made Andy’s blood hot, kissing her made it _boil_. How had she ever managed to mistake her attraction to the other woman for hatred?

Their rivalry over the year, their fight in the bar, all the built up tension and frustration came to a head and Andy was suddenly desperate for release, desperate for _more_. She deepened the kiss, coaxing Quynh’s tongue into her mouth with her own, her fingers tightening in Quynh’s hair, in her coat as she tried to pull her closer still.

When they finally pulled apart, Andy felt like she was winded yet again. Quynh had stolen her breath completely away.

“I know our drinks were ended prematurely, but I have plenty of gin back at mine.” Andy said once she had air in her lungs again.

“Lead the way.” Quynh practically purred, wrapping her arm in Andy’s.

*****

“And with that final lap completed, Pit Wiper takes it for the Steel Stilettos, snatching the title of champions from the Steppe Sisters.”

“Oh and what’s this? Captain Androma-kills is _not_ taking the loss well, and is breaking out to confront the Steel Stilettos. Looks like our resident Amazon is still in the ama-zone amiright?”

“And she’s ah, she’s just been thrown something from the crowd, I can’t quite see what it is but whatever it may be she’s offering it out to Pit Wiper, down on one knee and-”

“Ladies and gentlemen, is this it? Is this _truly_ a proposal happening right here, right now, between these two terrifying, wonderful ladies?”

“It is! Pit Wiper says yes and this is beautiful, ladies and gentlemen, truly truly beautiful, and we certainly have seen it all tonight. We’ve had action, we’ve had drama, and now we’ve had romance, and uh, if we’re not carefully it looks like we may have some pornography on our hands soon- LADIES. Please. This is a family show.”

“All right. Thank you. Maybe wait for the honeymoon, eh?”

Andy barely heard the commentator, his words blending in with the cries and cheers of the crowd around her. All she could hear was Quynh’s voice, her breathless “yes” as she pulled the woman of her dreams to her chest and kissed her.


End file.
